Heroes Vodka founder Travis McVey examines one of the very first bottles to come off the production line on the original bottling date, Veterans Day in 2011 ? 11/11/11.

Written by

Nancy De Gennaro
The Daily News Journal

On Memorial Day six years ago, Travis McVey sat at a VFW post bar recalling good times with two of his buddies he served with on the Marine Presidential Guard for President George H.W. Bush. One was Indiana State Trooper Richard Gaston, who was killed in the line of duty. The other Marine was Thomas Rabjon, a Phoenix police officer who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

"You go through all the emotions when you lose someone close to you. These guys were like brothers who I served with and trained with. So I was sitting in the VFW thinking what I could do to give back," says McVey, an Indiana native ...